I truly don’t know where to begin when talking about the Mortdecai trailer. It feels needlessly cruel to discuss this film because everyone (even the audience) is in on the joke except for Johnny Depp. Mortdecai is a “crime comedy.” This trailer features Johnny Depp living through yet another costume (in this case, bleached hair and a quirky moustache) and features Gwyneth Paltrow’s ridiculous attempt at a British accent in a Pink Panther knockoff. Something nice: Goop’s hair looks good.
Is it too soon to declare this as yet another Johnny Depp-led disaster? Maybe. Then again, this film got pushed back (along with Natalie Portman’s Jane Got a Gun) to next February. That’s not exactly a vote of confidence from the studio. February is a little better than January but not by much. Johnny stars in this trailer as the titular Charlie Mortdecai, an unorthodox art dealer who’s searching for a painting that leads to Nazi gold. This film is an adaptation of Kyril Bonfiglioli’s final novel that was finished posthumously. Thank goodness Kyril hasn’t lived to see this film. That sounds harsh, but so is this trailer. Let’s get this over with and then discuss. Pay special attention to Johnny making the “honking” motion with his hands after checking out Olivia Munn’s chest:
Ohhhh, Johnny. What happened? He used to be so bloody cool. Everything he did smelled of leather and intrigue. Now he’s popping out dud after dud. After The Rum Diary, Dark Shadows, and Transcendence, I don’t think his career can survive this latest disaster. Gwyneth Paltrow as a leading lady will not help. With Johnny’s lack of appeal over the past several years, he should either take an extended break or put that Jack Sparrow costume into heavy rotation. It may be time to bury the career and be done. Or at least put things in a time capsule. I’m going to pretend that Ewan McGregor has nothing to do with this mess. This film isn’t a “caper” or a spoof. It’s a physical embodiment of Johnny’s mid-life crisis, and it’s very uncomfortable to witness.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN
These Stills alone are too embarrassing to press play TBH
Totally!
These are not even stills from the movie. They are taken by paps on the set,
Poor Ewan, POOR EWAN!!!
I agree. Very embarrassing
What’s embarrassing, hilariously embarrassing is calling a few shots of actors acting “embarrassing” , I mean what the hell is embarrassing, at all about these few shots? You people are ridiculous.
Don’t know what cynical crack you are smoking but it seems entertaining in a very campy way.
I will see this and even if this isn’t a box-office success, Johnny’s career has suffered but his experience in the past will make sure he will still get parts.
Agree. Very Peter Sellers-esque but with a Depp twist.
I agree. This looks like it could be light entertainment, and Johnny seems very much in on the joke. I will wait for more clips before making a final judgment, but I think it is very premature to label the movie a disaster and Johnny’s and Gwyneth’s careers dead.
No kidding. I would hardly call someone who is in a still active Marvel movie franchise “dead” career-wise. Maybe Goop isn’t the A-list movie darling leading lady anymore, but that hardly equals career death. Johnny, well, I don’t know. He’s still working but it seems like he could really use a hit.
^This. Depp’s career over? Yeah, not gonna happen. If Adam Sandler is any indication, Depp is going to be around until he he decides to bow out. As for Gwyneth, life is too cruel for us to be blessed with never having to see her on the screen again.
I think it looks fun. Shrugs.
Shrugging with you.
Feels like its been a while since we’ve had one of these silly caper movies, so this might work. The trailer was fun.
Glad I’m not the only one. I think it looks good, and I agree with @Carol, Depp is definitely in on the joke.
Yes to all! I look forward to movies like this. And while I agree that Johnny seems to hide in his costumes, I truly enjoy the characters he’s played.
I think it looks good! I thought his comedic delivery in the trailer was so much better than I’ve seen him in a while… but this IS the trailer. It’s hard to tell how the film will be by the trailer these days. I hope it’s good. I like the sneak preview of the cast so far…
(crossing fingers)
OT but those are your photos? Those animal photos are amazing.
Yeah I’ll watch it, looks fun.
Edit: but since I’m going on holiday and was looking for a fun book, I may have to read the books first.
Yeah it looks rather fun! And potentially quite amusing in a campy, over the top way. Like the old Bond movies, everything was Way Too Much and very ridiculous, but they were fun nevertheless. This has potential.
Yep, looks fun. And you need to copyright “cynical crack.” Too funny!
I agree. i do not get all the sudden hate for Depp.
I agree wholeheartedly! The movie looks like fun and Depp looks like he’s enjoying himself! I’ll see it!
i have never been a fan of his looks, but he can act and this might be fun!
I agree I think it will be a silly fun movie. Does Everything have to be so serious? Can’t we go to the movies to have a good time and be entertained?
Looks like a Pink Panther movie. Except…not good.
You would think Gwyneth could have mastered a British accent by now, but i guess it just doesn’t matter it needs to come naturally. When i lived in the UK my landlord had been living there for 35 years already but he still had a heavy Indian accent.
He’s like a male Madonna and/or Nicole Kidman, fighting growing up with every last bit of energy available to him.
I think he would be so much more interesting if he allowed himself to grow up, evolve, change. If he just took some different roles and maybe realized that he’s not young anymore. As it is, he’s so obviously afraid of being older and not 25 anymore, that it makes him really kind of a sad, awkward figure.
@ Diana. I hadn’t thought about it this way, but imo you’re on to something. Agree there is a fundamental lack of maturity in his film roles, which is off-putting at this point. Nothing wrong with having a bit of fun, but he could mix it up.
You’ve expressed perfectly – he needs to grow up. He almost did, with Donnie Brasco but I guess straight acting doesn’t appeal to him
Oh give me a break, what did he do to seem like he doesn’t want to grow up and how exactly is he not playing different roles? You do realize that he is playing a middle aged man in this movie right? As he did in Transcendence, The Lone Ranger and Dark Shadows.
He is not exactly trying to play young people or trying to make himself look young.
@tracking Was there not enough maturity for you in Transcendence?
You people are giving him hell without actually watching his movies
“You people are giving him hell without actually watching his movies”… yeah maybe you should try other movies, you will shockingly discover what cinema is all about…
And he is even worse than kidman or madonna…he still plays the same characters he was playing 20 yrs ago how is that evolving and growing as an artist… that plus the makeup the everyday scarecrow costume that is supposed to be cool and you have the exact portrait of a middle-aged man that is grabbing desperately his past youth.
Compare him to Robert Downey Junior and then you ‘ll understand what is the difference between an actor who is maturing and growing into his art and the sad excuse for an actor Depp became…if you compare him to actors his generation he is way way under their level.
@Kio. Is Transcendence all you’ve got? The movie the Rolling Stone critic said he “skyped in” his performance for the paycheck?
@Truthtful That’s funny because I’ve seen all types of Cinema and I don’t need someone like you to teach me about it.
How exactly is he playing the same characters that he was playing 20 years ago? I don’t remember him playing middle aged characters like Charles Mortdecai, Will Caster, Tonto and Barnabas Collins, etc 20 years ago. He has matured and grown as an actor and is taking roles that suit his age.
His elegant suits in Mortdecai and Transcendence are scarecrow costume to you? Oh and he’s also not wearing makeup in either of those so what are you even talking about? So he is grabbing desperately his past youth by playing characters that are even older than his age? Ok!
Do you mean Robert Downey Junior who plays Robert Downey Junior the immature millionaire and playboy in every movie? Does he even do anything other than Marvel sequels these days? I prefer an actor who actually takes risks and tries to do different things.
@tracking Who cares about what some critic said about his performance? I have my own opinion of his performance and you should probably actually watch the movie instead of reading reviews about it.
@Klo: if you cannot see the similarity between dark shadows and Alice in Wonderland, PoC and Tonto…and Edward scissorhands well I understand much better your idea of “maturing as an actor” and what acting is … way much better…
Yeah there’s no similarities between Dark Shadows and Edward Scissorhands or Alice in Wonderland and The Lone Ranger. All of these characters are nothing like each other and I don’t remember Edward Scissorhands being middle aged.
Just because he wears makeup and costumes to look different in these movies it doesn’t mean anything.
Stop talking about “acting” because you make me laugh. You seem to have one idea of acting.
@Klo:
“Yeah there’s no similarities between Dark Shadows and Edward Scissorhands or Alice in Wonderland and The Lone Ranger. All of these characters are nothing like each other and I don’t remember Edward Scissorhands being middle aged.”
LOL!! if you can see it I can’t help you…
“Just because he wears makeup and costumes to look different in these movies it doesn’t mean anything.” again mega LOL!
You do realize that makeup and costumes are not “acting”… maybe a little book by Peter brook or Grotowsky will give you a glimpse of what acting is suppose to REALLY define…
“Stop talking about “acting” because you make me laugh. You seem to have one idea of acting.”
This idea of you laughing at the definition of acting is utterly burlesque itself LOL… again fan hood do not excuse lack of realism: try movies were actors don’t need ” makeup and costumes to look different” to ACT…and open a dictionary to have the proper definition of this word…otherwise little kids “act” incredibly well too during halloween…maybe we should consider some for oscars….
@Truthtful Yeah because you can act as well as he does just by wearing makeup and a costume.
@Klo: Then again try to find the definition of the word acting…”looking for richard” by Al palcino will rock your world on the very concept…
And I also saw that Twilight was one of your reference elsewhere in the tread…so there ‘s also that…^^
LMAO, after Klo consider Depp’s ridiculous and horrible performance of Trascendence as a proof of mature acting, I can’t take seriously that opinion. Normally I’m open minded with tastes, but I have the terrible luck to see that piece of trash on cinema with friends. All of us were on the same way.
@Truthtful Where did I talk about Twilight??? I just said that there was 5 Twilight when there was only 4 Pirates movies. I was responding to someone here who mentioned Twilight.
@roger I mentioned Transcendence because it’s a very recent film in which he plays it serious and I personally saw nothing wrong with his performance. It was a serious performance and he wasn’t wearing costumes or makeup or anything, he was playing a scientist his age.
That’s the point, “allegedly” a serious performance, not a dry painted wall looking horryfing as he was. I know he hasn’t make up or weird hair, but that doesn’t seem any natural approach. Mostly plain, with not clear charisma with Hall and even boring approach. Terrible because Depp was excellent in Donnie Brasco, but here he pass to the other espectrum. Just because an actor doesn’t go over-the-top or weird doesn’t make a great performance.
… Do writers even try anymore to be funny?
This is not the type of comedy that appeal to everyone but I think there was quite a lot of funny moments for a teaser trailer.
I think her accent is fine. She was praised for the one she did in Emma, and she had been living there for a while.
It’s like a terrible Austin Powers movie.
Yes, this is what it made me think of, too. Including Gwyneth doing an Elizabeth Hurley impression, accent and hair and range and all.
We’re just too familiar with Johnny’s schtick now. The style was so fresh and striking in Pirates of the Caribbean, a sort of arch, smart, over-costumed, over-expressive Kabuki. Now he just looks like he’s mugging. This would have been much better with any number of British actors: um, Cumberbatch?
For a movie set in the same world, you could check out Geoffrey Rush in The Best Offer. Interesting movie (more interesting than this, anyway). Btw, Rush and Depp have another Pirates slated for 2017.
How do you know that The Best Offer is more interesting than this movie before you even saw it? And what makes you think that this would have worked better with a young British actor?
Depp is perfect for the role and his acting feels nothing like his acting in the Pirates movies. Yes, of course there’s comical facial expressions (that we’ve never seen from him before) here, it’s a caper comedy, he’s not supposed to play it serious like he did in say, Finding Neverland.
This is not another case of Lone Ranger. He is not out of control here.
Holy cow, this looks wretched. It’s like he’s been body snatched, he’s so different now.
He is wearing aging makeup.
Besides the makeup, the man is getting older. We all do! Of course he looks different. Good grief some of you are judgmental! Why not give this movie a freaking chance before condemning it outright?
Boyish features and wrinkles is a creepy look.
It doesn’t look that bad. It doesn’t look that funny either. It looks like it’s in the same vein as Clue or Murder by Death,two very funny “crime” comedies.
Yes I totally got Clue vibes from it as well.
Yes, I agree with you here. I like those types of movies…and still watch them. I’ll watch this, but maybe when it’s free on Netflix or cheap on some other service.
Jack Sparrow and Great Gatsby had a sloppy make out baby.
…and the mother was on crack throughout the pregnancy too
Winona is somewhere laughing.
Somewhere laughing about what? At least Depp has a career and people actually care about his film projects.
If she wants to laugh then she should laugh about her flop film projects.
Johnny should take a break from acting and disappear entirely for a while. I used to love him 15 years ago, now not so much. Did it all start to go downhill when he separated from Vanessa Paradis?
I never knew how reviled Depp was until posting here. I am not sure what Depp has done that makes every post about him a feeding frenzy for insults.
The movie stills look the same as the stills from American Hustle in a campy way, and I thought American Hustle was really good.
This is another celebrity I do not get the dislike for. So what if he and Paradis broke up and he moved on with a younger woman? Who cares if he does loads of costume movies? I think there are a lot worse people in Hollywood to pick on. I am not even a big Depp fan but I just think the dislike of him is a tad extreme.
Pair him with another disliked actress like Patrons and let the games begin.
I actually like Depp as an actor. My problem with him is that I think he’s turning into Nicolas Cage. Just doing bad movie after bad movie. He’s not as bad as Nic Cage but he is getting there. I think he needs to start doing indies and stop with the Pirates movies.
THIS!!!
I still find Johnny to be incredibly charismatic and talented, but he’s becoming an internet meme now. I’ve always felt the costumes were a part of his charisma and that he has one awful movie for every good one, but it’s just hard to defend him nowadays. And seriously Pirates should just STOP. Even Twilight got the memo: film franchises are meant to be finite.
The Kingdom of Awful already found a monarch in Nicholas Cage and he doesn’t seem to want to abdicate. There’s no need for you to take the throne by force, Depp!
@Josefa Twilight had 5 movies, Pirates had 4 and they are getting to 5 which will be the last one.
Depp is an incredibly capable actor and by all accounts, he’s a really nice and genuine guy. I like him but I agree with FingerBinger that he needs to pick better projects.
Mostly, I think people like to make fun of him for his scarfs and his young sidepiece but I think it’s more just benign teasing than actual hate.
@Klo
I vividly remember it was supposed to be a trilogy. They even called the 3rd one “At World’s End”. Why even continue after that?
Though I guess Twilight wasn’t a good comparison since it’s all adapted material from books, while Pirates is an original story. Perhaps if Twilight was an original story we’d still have releases until 2034.
I thought it looked good at first! But that turned out to be the ad for Clive Owen in The Knick.
The Mortdecai trailer looks altogether too arch and campy; it may have a few laughs, but whatever happened to him as a dramatic actor?
Looks like a future flop to me, wouldn’t pay to see it.
This is an action-comedy with lots of funny moments in the trailer, it will appeal to the masses and your average Joey. I’ve heard good things from those who’ve seen it a screenings.
You could be right. Interestingly enough, I watched Transcendence recently and I liked it. I’m just not really taken by the trailer and the February release date doesn’t give me much hope either. I hope I’m wrong though.
It’s like he’s become a caricature of his former self, his acting seems too over the top for me. In every movie he has been recently, he’s just played a variation of his quirky self, I can’t help to see a different character, only Johnny in yet another costume.
It’s called aging and changing. He’s never done something like this before. Every movie he has been in recently? Maybe you should have watched his latest one Transcendence because he played it serious in that. He didn’t play a variation of his “quirky self” or anything in his last movies but you want to see it that way.
I don’t see the costumes but I’m seeing the suits that are appropriate for the character.
I actually watched Transcendence… and that was my definitive turning point on Depp… the word horrible is even underrated to describe this painful moment.
He needs to step back for awhile and come back in 10 years with indie movies…I used to like him but now he just need a break and to reconnect with acting! Real acting like he used to in what’s eating gilbert grape…Look at Leo di Caprio i can’t believe he is the way more interesting one now and a real career and solid roles.
@Klo – You need to stop bringing up Transcendence. That was just a plain bad movie. I saw it opening weekend, and really wanted to like it, but Morgan Freeman looked bored out of his mind, and they did too much walking around in the desert. I honestly can’t imagine how the movie got greenlit as it was so nonsensical. Johnny was the only part of the movie that wasn’t causing me to fall asleep, and I saw it in IMAX.
Klo: I used to like Depp a lot he was hot and fun. Bu the shine has worn off since he hooked up with amber Heard, that is just the way we women works, we determine , subconciously a mans Worth and how attractive he is largely from his woman! and Amber though a pretty girl , seems boring and useless to other women , she is a very “beta”woman as in , not alpha at all. And we women just knows this , where she is on the scale and amongst women she is very very low… it has nothing to do with looks there are other factors Depp used to be alpha but his association with that beta woman brings him aaall the way down…
This is based in science look it up!
If he hooks up with a
I would watch this.
This kinda looks, feels and sounds like something that should’ve made in the 90s
Johnny’s been on a downslope for quite a while now – I began losing interest around the time Finding Neverland came out. What was oddly charming and eccentric now seems arch and tryhard. I agree he needs to step away for a while — maybe come back when he’s older, like, really older — Harry Dean Stanton edgy and not pretty boy quirky
Yep. I’m wondering if he can he do a “real person” character anymore. Maybe he’s entertaining himself but few others.
I don’t understand how Charles Mortdecai is not a “real person” character. Being quirky or campy doesn’t mean that he’s not a “real person” character. He played a “real person” character in Transcendence and is playing Whitey Bulger in his upcoming movie Black Mass so yeah he is mixing it up.
Mortifying.
I love a good hate-on for Depp’s midlife crisis as much as the next person but I’m still going to see this movie. I like the campy, upper class thing. Reminds me of an uncle or two of mine.
Well, Ewan McGregor looks really pretty in it. The film itself looks really bad.
I haven’t been able to play any of your videos on my iPhone or ipad…is it just me? (Wondering if I need to adjust something…thanks!)
The trailer actually looks funny, and I think he’s definitely in on the joke.
I honestly think the amount of hate he receives on this website is ludicrous. And it’s probably all b/c he’s dating Amber Heard. Get over it already.
I don’t think people dislike him because he is dating Heard per se. But I can say that I personally really dislike how he handled the separation from Vanessa Paradis. I have a strong feeling that he fell hard for Amber Heard when they met on the set of the Rum Diary in 2009, bit didn’t have the guts to make a clean cut with Paradis (whom I don’t like very much by the way). That coupled with his drinking problem, must have guaranteed a few miserable years for him and Paradis. When he did finally get with Amber at the end of 2011 his PR people tried to whitewash what had gone on behind the scenes by making it seem that Vanessa had been the problem all along, even driving him to drink, because she was so ‘boring’, such a nag, and because she forced him to do the Pirates Films. And Depp let that happen because it suited him. Not very nice. Read Lainey’s analysis of what happened here: http://www.laineygossip.com/Johnny-Depps-broken-heart-blamed-on-Vanessa-by-Us-Weekly-damage-control/23935
@Calcifer What makes you think that Depp actually wanted them to make Vanessa look bad? Vanessa said nothing but nice things about him after the break up and he also said nothing but wonderful things about her and said that he still loves her and is friends with her but of course nobody here cares about him saying that.
He is a very nice man and he deserves none of this GOSSIP hate, Yes, people in the real world do not dislike him, or at least do not dislike him for his personal life choices.
@Klo I am sure Depp is a nice guy, but he probably has a weak and self-serving side to his character. To answer your question about why Vanessa was blamed: Depp was a big Disney star and his image needed to be protected to make sure he would stay a top-earner for Disney. The easiest way to take the blame off of him was to put it on his ex-partner. Vanessa probably never contested what was said because she had been given big money to stay quiet.
In an interview with her from The Independent (May 2014), she is asked about an album called Love Songs, whether the songs on the album reflect her heartbreak from the split with Depp. She answered: “No,” she smiled in reply. “And I didn’t even write that lyric, so I am all safe. I would never do an album as a journal. A journal is yours, but music is something to share with people. Everything that has been said or written in the record are universal ideas that people can relate to and will hopefully make them feel good. And I am completely protected there,” she added with another smile, “[because] I didn’t write the songs.”
Notice her use of the words: ‘I am all safe’ and ‘I am completely protected here’. They make it seem that she was paid to keep quiet. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/johnny-depp-and-me-vanessa-paradis-on-acting-gigging-and-life-after-a-break-up-9422069.html
Glad we have you to explain his life to us.
@ Zwella Ingrid who said: ‘Glad we have you to explain his life to us.’
Yes, I admit I have given the split between Depp and Paradis a lot of thought, and that’s probably because I have seen a lot of similar situations in my circle of friends and family. I mean, men cheating on and leaving their longtime partners for younger girlfriends. I have always found it painful and disturbing and probably because of that, I want to understand. That being said I am aware of the fact that anything I write about the Depp-Paradis split is speculation, albeit speculation based upon things I have read – mostly in publications that are considered solid.
I wouldn’t call it hate, actually I feel sorry for Amber for being with such an unpleasant guy like JD. I think people are mostly annoyed by his lame acting attempts and his bad movies. The guy is stinking rich and could use his money to finance some interesting film projects and give some talented newcomers a shot instead of him still raking in millions when he is clearly not interested in giving an interesting performance.
I don’t actually think Depp is an unpleasant person. It looks like he is always nice to his fans. But too much money and easy succes might have corrupted him. Remember that he almost dropped out of the Whitey Bulger film, because he was asked to take pay cut (a reduction in his standard $20 million fee). Decisions like that make me question how much he actually loves independent films. In the end he did take on the role, and I don’t know how much he was paid, but I still don’t think the story reflects well on him http://variety.com/2013/film/news/johnny-depp-drops-out-of-whitey-bulger-biopic-1200490181/
Wow, you are all over the place here hating on him like if beat your puppet!
How exactly is Depp an unpleasant guy? Have you heard/read about how nice he is to his fans and all the people who work with him on set or meet him? If anything he is the nicest guy in Hollywood.
Amber has been with him for almost 3 years and she knows him and is in love with him and now they are getting married so there’s no need to feel sorry for her because nobody’s forcing her.
You should start speaking for yourself more because even those who hate on him realize that he is a capable actor whose made lots of great films.
He should use his money only for the projects that he’s interested in and by the way he used his money to finance Martin Scorsese’s Hugo.
I don’t know how blinded with hate you can be to not see the interesting performance he’s coming up with in Mortdecai.
@Calcifer Easy success? Let’s not act like he ever tried to have easy success now.
We don’t even know much about the dropping out of Black Mass story, the press just wanted to make him look bad.
He did The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus for free, he took pay cut and used his own money to get The Rum Diary made, he put 150 million from his money on The Lone Ranger to get it made, he did cameos in Lucky Them and Tusk for free. But nobody wants to talk about that of course.
The guy is a drunk with nothing but rotten teeth in his mouth. There is very little pleasant about him … except for his money maybe … which seems to be the only thing that matters to him these days.
@Hmmm You need to stop talking as if you know him because you really know nothing about him and you don’t know how he actually is. You seem to be still stuck in 2011 when he was drinking too much.
Deleted
Oh dear… I just blushed looking this trailer , while shaking my head… mortifying indeed!
At this stage, we cannot call it acting anymore it’s more pantomine with weird costumes… and even though I feel sorry for the pantomine Art (which takes years and years to master) to have even dared to compare this disaster to it.
Um, how exactly is THAT not acting? Do you think acting is actually easy and anyone can do what he does? Are you sure you actually saw the trailer? Because I didn’t see any weird costumes.
It’s a comedy, he is not supposed to play it serious.
@Klo: acting is what Joaquin Phoenix, Matthew Mc Conaughey , Colin firth, di Caprio and a hell lot of actors do: using their emotions to make alive a character, no need for pantomime or costumes , in an instant you forget who they ar, they have different look in their eyes and even different expressions…well the do what is normally called acting ….in this disastrous trailer you just see Johnny Depp with weird faces, stupid costumes, nothing in the eyes and bad overreacted expressions.
Maybe you should see REAL movies with REAL good actors to see the difference… it will rock your world. Even the gardens of the galaxy will do it at this point if you consider that horrendous trailer as a promising preview of what acting is!
I like them but it’s interesting what you say because they seem to play all of their characters the same way, unlike Depp who actually tries to play his character in a different way.
He does drama and comedy well, and maybe you should actually watch the trailer before judging by pictures that were taken by paps on the set?
This is supposed to be campy and over the top, do you realize that? Did you not see Matthew McConaughey overacting and being over the top in The Wolf Of Wall Street?
I saw good and enjoyable acting by him in the trailer and he is an ACTOR of course he would use facial expressions! Also what I saw in the trailer is elegant suits that are appropriate for the character and not “weird costumes”
Nothing in the eyes? That’s probably because it’s a COMEDY and not a serious melodrama, go watch Transcendence if you want to see his eyes being all emotional.
@Thrutful
You do realise acting comes in so many forms and that in this day and age, it becomes increasingly difficult for an audience to separate the actor from the tabloid-story? And in every movie, costumes are used to underline a character.
But this movie is supposed to be over the top and therefore, can have slightly overreacted emotions.
Coming from someone who has seen REAL MOVIES WITH REAL ACTORS. Most recently, Ed Wood. Oh, damn, that has Johnny Depp in it too. Guess I still can’t see the difference. =P
@Klo:
Wow! Lol!
If Johnny Depp could pull the same performance these days than Mathhew McConnaughay in the wolf of wall street I would burn my hands for too much applause.
Di Caprio or Phoenix never have played the same type of roles in their whole career… that is called evolving, and that’s what GOOD actors do!
“they seem to play all of their characters the same way” from Gilbert Grape to the aviator or the wolf of wall street how these characters are “played in the same way” , from Gladiator, to walk the line, the master or HER how these characters are the same??
Except if by “play they character the same way” you mean good acting…instead of being feature in disguise…which is drastically different…
and unfortunately for me I have seen transcendence… and if you consider that being emotional well I understand you don’t “get” Matthew Mc Connaughey…
@Aagje:
“You do realise acting comes in so many forms and that in this day and age, it becomes increasingly difficult for an audience to separate the actor from the tabloid-story? And in every movie, costumes are used to underline a character.”
Sure. But oddly while Di Caprio is a gossip staple and particularly mocked in his personal life people have no problem separating him from his good work.
and same for a lot of actors actually.
“Coming from someone who has seen REAL MOVIES WITH REAL ACTORS. Most recently, Ed Wood. Oh, damn, that has Johnny Depp in it too. Guess I still can’t see the difference. =P”
Wow how condescending of you to assume other people don’t see REAL movies! LOL! as a cinephile myself I can crucially make a difference between a Mads Mikkelsen in the hunt, a Jean-Louis Trintignant in Amour or a Joaquin Phoenix in HER,these are REAL ACTORS in REAL MOVIES…Depp in transcendence , dark shadows or whatever horrendous “crap in disguise ” of your pick is not even a remotely realistic comparison of what is a REAL MOVIE (since you want to go there)
Yes he was good in Ed Wood… but it is very telling that you have to go 20 yrs back in order to pick a descent example of his work…
@Truthtful Oh no we don’t have to go 20 yrs back because he’s been nominated for the Oscar 3 times in the last 10 years! And he’s also won prestigious acting awards such as the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild for his work in the last 10 years!
Chocolat, Blow, Pirates, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Secret Window, The Libertine, Finding Neverland, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd and Public Enemies are all great examples of his great work.
@Klo: yeaaah… nominated and a while back ! all these movies were made some time ago now…and public enemies is a same “masterpiece” as transcendence…
Sorry again but if you consider Chocolat, Pirates and public enemies as “good movies” again I understand more what you qualify as “good work”… you should try more picks from Cannes Festival, Berlin, Venice or Sundance… these were REAL GOOD MOVIES are acclaimed… and they are not produced by Disney…
Again your examples of “good movies” are very telling of the level of quality you expect… and after that you dare criticize Robert Downey Jr in the marvel franchise… very funny!
@Truthtful Yeah a while back and not 20 years ago! And yeah all of these movies were good!
Chocolat was critically acclaimed and nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Picture and Pirates was also critically acclaimed and nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Actor for his iconic performance as Jack Sparrow and Public Enemies was very good too.
You are hilariously embarrassing. Stop please. All of these movies are much better than RDJ’s meaningless Marvel movies.
@ Truthful
Separating actors from the role they play is apparently very subjective and it becomes quite easy to see why you fail to do so with Johnny Depp since you apparently carry a torch of hatred for him. Different strokes for different people, let’s at least agree on that.
And I assumed nothing about other people, especially in this day and age where so many movies and thereby actors’ performances are so widely available from all over the world. But a “real” movie, just like acting comes in so many different forms. Johnny Depp is an actor who specializes in making characters which are so off from reality because they fit into the movie as needed. But then he has also proven that he doesn’t always have to rely on them such as in Blow, Public Enemies, Chocolat and let us not forget The Ninth Gate for example. All very good movies where he didn’t rely on a costume to make his role memorable.
But your condescension regarding the more popular movies and preferring apparently the more indie European films does not make you a cinephile with better taste than others. It makes you a snob.
@Klo: Sorry but I don’t take anything seriously from someone who took Twilight as a comparison…
Chocolat was nominated for: best actress, best picture best actress in a second role, best writing and best music… how impressive of Johnny Depp (everything was praised but him!)…but that doesn’t change the fact that it was a mediocre movie, just good for entertainment.
And then again he was “nominated”… nominated !
Public enemies was horrendous, atrocious acting …
If you did know something about embarrassment you would’t have take transcendence or Public enemies as good movies…. and of course didn’t take Twilight as an example…
Then again: JD WAS good once… the key word here is WAS. you have every right to adore some actor, but people have every right too to find his “acting skills” atrocious… and apparently the later is quite common these day, not only from the viewers… but also widely from the critics…and worldwide…and this sad state of facts is increasing by every movie…
@truthful, amusing that you have to go all the way back to Gilbert Grape to name a good work of DiCaprio’s.
@Lilacflower: if you would have read my comments you would have find that the Wolf of Wall street was my last example for di Caprio (so his very last movie)… Not every actor has done his steady work 20 years ago…
@ Klo: If you really think a Golden Globe is a prestigious award, you should inform yourself better! The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is a farce. Journalist Richard Roeper wrote in 2011:
‘Although I was one of the few critics that actually enjoyed “The Tourist,” I had to join the chuckling when Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp received Globe nominations. The HFPA might as well have issued a statement saying, “Of course, we don’t think ‘The Tourist’ is awards material. We just want those two fabulous stars to show up!”’
If you want to read more:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/3359087-452/globes-gervais-hfpa-awards-berk.html#.U-uc1VZy7P0
Or: http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2010/01/16/howell_the_powerful_nobodies_behind_the_golden_globes.html
@Aagje: my criticism toward the mediocre last decade of a fading actor doesn’t give you the right to call me a snob…particularly when you were the first one bragging about knowing what REAL MOVIES and REAL ACTORS were… remember so how this very first bragging will define you, maybe as a snob that cannot even back his/her words…and call names others
Oh and being cinephile is not about taste is about loving cinéma…not entertainment…words have very precise definitions in general…
If indie european movies make you uncomfortable (albeit in France “Amour wasn’t really “indie”, same for “the hunt” in Denmark”…) a lot of good mainstream movies such as The grand Budapest Hotel, HER, monuments men, twelve years a slave or Lincoln will provide you a good glimpse of what in general “people” consider acting.
You keep saying that you do know about REAL MOVIES (your words and typing)… but besides the horrendous movies starring mister Depp you don’t cite any, so where are your references? where are these REAL MOVIES you were bragging about?
@aatgje: oh and I do separate JD from his work since as you can notice I didn’t at any point criticize something else than just his work. And only his work.
So no “hatred” here just judging his less than mediocre last decade of crappy work.
@ Truthful
Considering you were the first one to throw these words around; “Maybe you should see REAL movies with REAL good actors to see the difference…”, thereby implying that you and only you were possible of making the distinction between a good and a bad movie, how exactly does that make me someone bragging about having seen real movies?
And yes, cinephiles do love movies. Not merely cinéma since even the harshest critics can not deny the appeal of what are considered entertainment movies. Such as the example you yourself used with the Marvel-movies and RDJ. Adding an accent aigu really does not make that distinction.
And where did it say indie European movies make me uncomfortable? Do you really believe that because certain people like Johnny Depp’s movies (or apparently other movies which actors you judge negatively), that it makes them directly impossible of enjoying movies that don’t feature ‘loopy’ characters or everything being blown up?
I stand by my words. You, my dear, are a snob.
@Truthful, DiCaprio’s performance in Wolf of Wall Street was atrocious and nearly impossible to separate from his own personna, so again, you had to go back to Gilbert Grape. And you named Monuments Men as an example of good acting? Seriously?
@Aagje:
if you have read my comments, the marvel reference was done in comparison to the PoC franchise….you know to try to find something as low but by a better actor…
“And where did it say indie European movies make me uncomfortable? Do you really believe that because certain people like Johnny Depp’s movies (or apparently other movies which actors you judge negatively), that it makes them directly impossible of enjoying movies that don’t feature ‘loopy’ characters or everything being blown up? ”
Since you don’t have any references besides the horrendous filmography of mister Depp and was up in the arm with me citing european “indies” I assume indeed that enjoying movies without loppies character might be indeed your very cup of tea and calling them well… REAL MOVIES…
Oh and Cinéma…with an accent is how it is spelled in my language…and as without denying the “appeal” of entertainment… it doesn’t qualify these movies as cinéma… as yourself used the word “appeal”
If being a snob is having other references than transcendence or public enemies I gladly own it… and I still stand by my words too: a snob without substance only quick to call other names… well just a shell of snob then…way sader…
@Truthtful Hahahahaha, a fading actor in the last deacde! Yeah a fading actor whose had 3 movies that made a billion dollar in a matter of 5 years! A fading actor that was the highest paid actor of 2010!
Chocolat was a great movie and Johnny was praised for his performance in it by most critics, if you think it’s a medicore movie then you are the one who knows nothing about real cinema
You also know nothing about good acting if you think the acting by Depp, Cotillard and Bale was “horrendous, atrocious” in Public Enemies.
I didn’t say Transcendence was good and I didn’t say anything about Twilight. All what I said that it had 5 movies when Potc had only 4.
Depp IS a great actor and one of the greatest actors of all the time and his performance in this movie looks great.
No critic ever said that he is horrendous or atrocious.
@Lilacflowers: read my previous comments as you clearly have difficulties with comprehension… I cited his whole career FROM Gilbert grape TO the wolf of Wall street … that includes his WHOLE career.you know…hence the “from” to “to”…inclusion…
Well the Wolf of wall street was very good… good in off to have di caprio nominated at the academy…while Depp was nominated this year…at the razzes.
Well I don’t think Johnny Depp could hold a candle to bill murray in monument men..so there’s that!
You JD fangirls are hilarious and delusional, yes he WAS good in the PAST but now if you can defend transcendence while criticizing movies like monument men or the wolf of wall streets then your credibility cannot stand anymore.
It’s ok to be someone fan…but at some point being realistic has it perks!
@Klo:
“A fading actor that was the highest paid actor of 2010!” paid and good are drastically different…Daniel Day Lewis doesn’t earn as much and isn’t even listed in theses listed.. but well nobody doubt of his talent and his tremendous career you know…
And public enemies and transcendence are atrocious, it was a bump for cotillard and Bale, but since these actors still work on their craft instead of disguising themselves it was just a bump…
“Depp IS a great actor and one of the greatest actors of all the time and his performance in this movie looks great.”
How objective… from a fan that praise everything he has done without an ounce of criticism…I heard Sir Lawrence Olivier turning into his grave … well not really more laughing… at the offense!LOL
Now maybe it’s time for you to leave your parent’s basement and try on some history of cinema books, watch some documentary and go see some plays… and then maybe you will have a glimpse at what acting is instead of polluting the internet with fangirl adoration that absolutely lack in objectivity (” one of the greatest actors of all time !LOL!)
@ Truthful
Oh, jesus. Because I don’t feel the need to throw around the names of films which are probably seen by a small part of this world’s population, I am like an idiot clapping for every explosion that goes off in an image projected on a movie-screen? I have seen all the movies you have mentioned. Does that make me or my opinion on films better than anyone else’s who have dissimilar tastes? It doesn’t!
If you really can’t differentiate between the vastly different movies that require vastly different actors and their specific strength they can bring to certain characters, then I do have to wonder what the hell you were watching those films for in the first place.
I do have other reference points than the films you have mentioned, as you so eagerly assumed in the hopes it would prove your null point. So I do believe that gives me some substance according to your definition. A snob calling out another snob is justified then?
And apparently DiCaprio deserves praise for his performance in The Wolf of Wall Street because he got nominated for an Oscar but then the same courtesy isn’t extended to Johnny Depp, for example for his role in Finding Neverland? And before you mention him being nominated for the Razzies again, understand that legends such as Laurence Olivier, Barbra Streisand, Jack Nicholson, oh, and what a surprise, DiCaprio at some point have all been nominated for Razzies…
@Truthful, so an Oscar nomination means a movie is good if you like the film and actor, as in the case of Wolf of Wall Street, but does not mean the movie is good, only mediocre, if you don’t like the film and actor, as in the case of Chocolat? Wolf of Wall Street was a horrible, never-ending three hour misogyny fest and quite far from good and DiCaprio’s performance in it was mediocre, with little craft on display. My reading comprehension is quite good, thank you and I agree that Transcendence was horrible. I put it on par with Wolf of Wall Street as nearly unwatchable.
@Lilacflowers: I stand by my position: a nomination does not equate quality….
But the comparison between an oscar and a razzie tell something about 2 movies and 2 performances…the comparison was here the main point you know…
Indeen WoW was mysogynistic..but it doesn’t take the quality of the performances anyway (even if one of di caprio’s weakest of the last decade) there is way much more craft on display than in Johnny Depp last 5 movies ( the crawling while drugged scene alone does it)… which is telling on how low Depp have fallen.
He was good once , not in Chocolat (really mediocre cheesy movie) but more in fear and loathing in vegas or Ed wood or Gilbert Grape… but that time is long way gone, now he is a Disney boy (totally hollywood system Alice in Wonderland 2?? PoC 5??? how indie and risqué of him…) that is long in the tooth when it comes to money… chasing checks doesn’t really help with working on one’s craft, he is absolutely unable to do what Jared Leto or Matthew McConaughey did with the Dallas buyer club (working for 20000 dollars for the love of the craft) and that’s why he became son average, predictable and disappointing
Yeah good luck with ever seeing a performance like Joaquin Phoenix did in The Master or Her or Walk The Line from JD. Depp is just not on that level.
Be interesting to see if he will accept Marvel’s offer to play Dr. Strange. They might want to repeat the success of Iron Man with Joaquin Phoenix. The reason the first Iron Man was not only a financial success but also a critical one was because they had top notch actors to support a great character actor playing a superhero. Imagine Tom Cruise had played Iron Man ….
@JJ Well, good luck with ever seeing a performance like Edward Scissorhands or Ed Wood or Sweeney Todd or The Libertine from Joaquin Phoenix. He is just not on that level.
If people need to go down the memory lane to name good movies of JD then it must mean something, dear don’t waste your time trying to educate them on good films. To them The Lone Ranger is going to be remembered in 20+years.
Why would anyone go down the memory lne to name good movies of JD when he was still making good movies a few years ago? he made some of his very best work in the last 10 years.
Nobody needs someone who thinks Marvel movies are real cinema to educate them on anything.
Who said The Lone Ranger is going to be remembered in 20+years?
The racial controversy will help in that memory. Anyway, it can be remember but for wrong reasons.
Wow, didn’t know this was being ‘moviated’! I’ve read those books, twas a trilogy IIRC, quite camp as well as a decent whodunnit. I recall the writer was part of a small gang of dealers/ masterpiece hunters in Ireland for a time, and there’s much tantalising detail in the novels. The manservant is along the lines of Ngaio Marsh’s for Alleyn, and the principal is sexually ambiguous in spite of Bond-style carryings on.
Overall, there’s a bitter and cruel vibe that slightly mars the books, so a decent film could be a jolly good way to enjoy it all.
PS to my own comment:
I’d imagine Johnny Depp would be a good casting here…. It calls for a handsome amoral roue (sorry, can’t find acute accent thingy) that he does so well. Jack Sparrow in Jermyn St clobber!
this looks like something my 80 year old dad would like. It won’t be a huge box office success but there will certainly be people who enjoy this kind of thing.
The biggest problem I have with this is Olivia Munn.
Other than that I like it. it’s campy. Also Johnny is not flailing around, a la Jack Sparrow, like he has been in his other non Pirate movies of late so that’s a plus. I can deal with Gwyneth the actress just not anything else. I love Ewan and I like Paul Bettany a lot soo…yeah I’m probably going to see this.
I also can sometimes deal with Gwyneth the actress but not the person. And I like Paul and Ewan, but there’s no way I will watch this if Munn is in it. How did that even happen? I won’t watch the trailer, but from the description it sounds like she’s playing the exact kind of part you’d expect. She just makes me so ragey, I have to admit I will be thrilled if this flops. Sorry Johnny.
Forget Mordecai…how bout The Knick with Clive Owen that advertised before that?
Has anyone seen it? It looks promising…
The trailer looks funny, not awesome but funny enough.
The truth is this trailer could be a fantastic… this site would still say the movie is s#it and will flop. The “problem” is Johnny Depp is in this movie and since his longtime relationship failed and he has a younger girlfriend women here hate him with a passion.
Totally agree. Too much hate for old Johnny.
The movie looks like great fun and refreshing comedy. People here just want to hate on everything Depp does and overact to everything he does and wish everything he does to fail and make things look worse than they actually look. You guys don’t even bother to see these movies and yet hate on them.
He seems to be having fun and is in on the joke. I mean seriously he seems like the most in on the joke actor out of them, he certainly doesn’t look like he thinks it’ a serious drama.
It’s caper comedy and the way the are promoting makes it look like like that but yeah let’s act like it’s not..
Zackly…….these were written as ‘crime capers’ rather than Ellroy noir. Abounding in cliche, lurid…..but none the worse for that
Eh. I want Johnny to succeed and stop doing stinkers. He’s one of the nicest man in Hollywood. Mordecai trailer was intentionally campy, not Austin Powers campy but more like Rocky and Bullwinkle campy. People like to slag off The Tourist but it was a fun movie to watch because the humor wasn’t forced. Austin was funny because Mike Myers disappeared in his character, an exagerrated stereotype of a British man making naughty dick jokes. Here, you just see Depp reprising his Dark Shadows character.
Campy. Gwenyth’s hair looks awesome in this film.
JD never was a capable actor, he was always terrible. His career was based on his good looks, which he milked for all it was worth and Hollywood effectively hiding his criminal and dark past. This is just another lazy attempt of him doing quirky for the mainstream. His acting is on auto pilot. Blech!
Yeah because you can have an acting career for 30 solely because of good looks..NOT! How did he milk his good looks for all they are worth when he tries/tried to hide them at every opportunity possible?
He’s been nominated for the Oscar 3 times and won 53 acting awards, was that because of his good looks too?
If you think an actor who pulled off performances like Edward Scissorhands, Benny & Joon, Ed Wodd, Donnie Brasco, Sleepy Hollow, Blow, Pirates, Finding Neverland, Secret Window, The Libertine and Sweeney Todd is terrible then you really know nothing about acting.
Al Pacino acted circles around JD in Donny Brasco. Depp is a Hollywood product, just like Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. Neither of them have substantial acting chops.
@Hmmm Not really. They played off each other so well and had great chemistry. It’s hilarious that you say he is a Hollywood product since he is as anti-Hollywood as you get.
…come ooooon, he was really great in Dead Man (I cannot imagine anyone else pulling off such a role) and Ed Wood. He was even somewhat decent in that very bad Don Juan movie. He ruled, for a time… which makes the current downward spiral into Nicholas Cage-dom even more disappointing.
@Esmerelda: that’s exactly what I am trying to say! He WAS good but now not some much and indeed in A nicholas Cage kind of path! you have putted it so clearly!
Sure, and he really exploited those good looks in Edward Scissorhands, didn’t he?
I found him so crush-worthy as Edward Scissorhands.
Maybe there’s something wrong with me…
Scissorhands is one of my favorite movies of all-time.
I’m surprised that anyone can say that Depp is a “terrible” actor. Personally I think he’s very talented, with moments of sheer brilliance. That being said, I agree with the overall sentiment that his career has been a bit stale and uninspired lately.
He REALLY needs to mix it up a bit and I think Truthful is correct in saying that he should get away from the costumes for a while.
Trailer looks okay but I wouldn’t pay to see this in the theaters – I’ll wait for DVD. I wish Johnny would give up the ridiculous caricature type look he has embraced over the last few years – he ends up looking like a sad, over-the-hill rock star.
IMO he played the character of Jack Sparrow one too many times and lost a lot of his credibility. And playing yet another caricature in The Lone Ranger didn’t help him either.
Lol @ he ends up looking like a sad, over-the-hill rock star. Exaggerating much? It’s just his style of acting and he only does it when the roles are comical like this one.
If you’ve ever watched any of Johnny’s movies, he has a very campy, understated sense of humor and this trailer shows he is most definitely in on the joke. I’ll watch it.
This looks to me like they are trying to make a Wes Anderson movie….without Wes Anderson. Pink Panther meets Poirot with Anderson;s campy, lighthearted style and a sprinkling of his macaroon-inspired set decoration.
I LOVE Wes Anderson movies, but as the Highlander once said…”There can be only one”…
At least I think that was from Highlander. Not that Highlander has anything to do with Wes Anderson….but you know…someone will keep me right, I’m sure.
That said, this looks entertaining, and I’d probably go see it. I don’t really subscribe to the whole “fading actor” myth. As an actor, even an A list one, you are at the mercy of so very many things besides your own celebrity and overexposure. Writers and producers wield the real power, if you ask me. But then, I’m a writer, so I’m biased. So I’ll reserve judgement.
I dunno, this sort of movie could maybe have worked with Billy Wilder at the helm… or maybe Wes Anderson… but this does not look good.
+100.
It wasn’t funny. It feels like that fake Austin Powers biopic that played at the ending of Goldmember starring Tom Cruise as Austin and John Travolta as Goldmember. This one looks like a fake Pinkpather biopic starring Depp as Steve Martin.
Are we just going to pretend there’s not a link for a Dancing Jude Law here????
I liked everything I saw. Except Goop trying to be English. Again. Sadly, those days are still not behind her. Or us. Damn her, that hair. Beautiful.
It looks fun. Johnny is at his best on these kind of characters and lets be honest most of the people hating on him here, loved him before just because Jack Sparrow and hate on him now, just because he broke their fantasies by breaking up his old relationship as happens with more than 60% of couples around the world…get over it! There was a reason why they never married and why they spent so much time away from each other (maybe it was a nightmare when they were together), but they tried to remain together for the children, he tried to. But there’s a limited amount of unhappiness that a human being can bear…or what do you want? To open up the newspaper any day and read he died from overdose or by suicide?
Get a life. And let people to reach their own happiness. And if you don’t like his movies, then don’t go to watch it, but jus stop this ridiculous hate, it’s been over 2 years and even your beloved Vanessa is now in LA with Biolay and his daughter, so everybody has moved on. Move on you too
Wow. That looks utterly terrible, wtf!
The budget for this movie is 40 million. It won’t be considered a disaster even if it didn’t do well in the usa, it would still make over 100 million overseas and make a profit.